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Sunday, August 25, 2013

A New Way to Share!!

I have so many projects started...I have so many family pictures...so many stories...so much history to share with my family... so many "good intentions"...

Here is the current list of projects I have started:

1. "Who We Are and How We Got This Way" Volume One: Alan E. Samuel
2. "Who We Are and How We Got This Way" Volume Two: Doris M. Lichtenthal
3. "Letters Home" - Letters written by Doris Samuel to her mom, while in Japan 1954-1955
4. "Our Archipelago" 2nd Edition - written originally by William and Dorothy Holman

That list doesn't include all the stuff floating around in my head such as: documenting my grandfather's imprisonment in concentration camps after his family's business had been taken by the Nazis, documenting my great-grandfather's business in Java during the early 1900's, "Who We Are and How We Got This Way" Volume Three: The Baby Boomers", researching the families of my new son-in-laws, preserving and cataloging all our photos and documents...I can't even remember all the things I want to do.

Two things have now become obvious to me:

1. I don't know when to stop.
2. If I don't start sharing some of this information now, people may never see it.

"It's better to share some information now than allinformation never!

The above is something I learned while attending the 33rd IAJGS conference on Jewish genealogy this past summer. Makes sense. Apparently writing a family history is like owning a home...or paying bills...you're never really finished. With that lesson finally learned, I have decided to use this blog as a way to begin sharing what I have collected while still continuing to work on completing projects to be published in print.

Last year, I did complete one issue of a newsletter. My hope was to create quarterly editions. Nope. Good idea...lots of time. I think this may be a better approach. I can post a tiny snippet when I'm short on time or create a lengthy post when I'm on on a break (Remember last winter? 13 days out of school for weather- could have accomplished a lot!)

So, there you have it. If you'd like to help, that would be fun! If you have specific questions or are interested in a particular topic related to our family, just ask...that will give me some direction. In the meantime, I think I will try an approach I heard about from....somewhere....focusing each blog post on an ancestor whose birthday is approaching.